Is there a lawyer, paralegal, or a justice-minded individual, who is interested in filing a complaint in WI?
Question:
Any citizen/resident of WI is eligible to file a “John Doe Complaint” – the judge will conduct an investigation & decide whether charges should be filed. If the judge decides that the facts merit the filing of charges, the DA will be obligated to prosecute.
I would do this myself, but I do not live in WI. It would be good if you lived in Sauk or Dane County, where Madison is located. Time is of the essence. In my opinion, such a complaint should be filed.
Thank you for your consideration,
Henrietta
Answer:
I think you are mistaken in your confidence in a complaint filing, with the courts or otherwise. The District Attorney's office has near wide discretion in who to, or not to, prosecute for a crime. And what pressure they do feel is from their boss, the executive, not the judiciary.
Bringing a criminal investigation on the Court's own motion is only seen in more extreme cases and is fairly uncommon. In this case there has obviously been an investigation and one arrest, thus the police and the District Attorney have decided, hopefully based upon the facts, not to prosecute the father. There would likely have to be an extraordinary circumstance for a judge to reverse this course of events.
I say this not to discourage you, only to advise you that political or even media pressure may be quicker and more effective.
Even if I was a Madison resident, I would not climb on board with your complaint against Eric's father.
I do not see a viable complaint for criminal negligence charges against the father. Criminal negligence requires reckless behavior that would reasonably result in great bodily harm.
I lived in Michigan for 3 years and just about every other household has various rifles and/or handguns around. November 1st is the first day of the hungting season and it is known as "gun day."
I don't see Eric's dad's failure to adequately store and lock up the guns as anything that even comes close to being deemed as "reckless" behavior in Wisconsin.
Certainly, the requisite criminal mind/intent aka mens rea, is lacking as to the father to support a charge of criminal negligence.
The Wisconsin DA made a good call. Prosecutors get paid to find a conviction where it is supported by the evidence. Believe me, if the evidence supported such a charge, it would have been filed.
Moreover, the father's behavior was not the cause in fact of the shooting death.
In terms of a civil complaint, even where simple negligence can be found, that is, even if you could find that Eric's dad had the oridinary duty to exercise caution in keeping the guns locked up, and because he did not, then he breached that duty, and dad was negligent, it wouldn't matter. Because dad's liability is severed.
Why? Because there is the intervening, superceding, criminal act of Eric intentionally shooting and killing the principal.
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